I walked through the portal still half-believing the fairytale.
Charlotte
"Whoa!"
That was what slipped out of my mouth as I stumbled out of the portal, my head pounding from space travel. My vision blurred for a moment, and I pressed my fingers against my temple, trying to steady myself.
The air here felt different, colder, and somehow tingling in my nose, and I rubbed my nose as I clutched my bag and looked up at the building standing in front of me.
It was beautiful. Dark grey stone, gothic architecture, towers that seem haunting. Arched windows lined every floor, and the iron gate at the entrance was so tall and giant that it made one feel small when walking through it. Gargoyles perched on the corners, looking so lifelike it felt as if they were watching every movement. Everything about the building looked ancient, gloomy, and paranormal.
I had never seen a building like this.
The portal man beside me barely spared me a glance before walking forward toward the big iron gate without a word. My eyes followed the movement and landed on the banner stretched above it.
Morsvalley Academy.
I gulped. If I walked through that gate, I would be a fully pledged student of this school. No going back, no opting out, no running home.
But at least I would finally be outside the east wing of Callahan mansion for the first time in my life. That thought alone had been enough to make me say yes when no real choice was being given to me anyway. I was seeing a whole new world, and that had to count for something.
Morsvalley Academy was a supernatural school that took in one human every five years as part of a peace treaty between the supernatural and the human worlds. The next human picked at random was supposed to be my brother Charles.
My parents had refused to let him leave because he was their successor, their heir, and, in their words, he was too weak to survive a place like this.
What could they do to avoid sending him? They sent me instead. Their hidden daughter, the cursed twin. The one nobody was supposed to know existed.
I had spent nineteen years inside the east wing of that mansion, meals brought to my door while playing with the nanny I grew up with, known as my mother more than my biological mother.
Off I went. And now I was here, dressed like a boy, my white hair dyed black, trying to adjust my stance and broaden my shoulders like a man, but I didn't; it was convincing.
Although I was starting to think that was a pointless effort because right now, every supernatural eye in that courtyard was turned in my direction, and the expressions on their faces already screamed "I was different."
The courtyard was wide and open, stone-paved, with students scattered in clusters across it. Some were tall, some had eyes that looked different, not human, possibly, and I tried hard not to stare because they might find it offensive.
A girl near the fountain had nails that were too long, and she was watching me with her head slightly tilted, assessing me before baring her teeth at me, and I quickly looked away.
Yeah, that's it. Offensive.
They were looking at me with absolute disgust, upper lips curling, noses wrinkling, and murmuring to each other under their breath. Some were staring outright, not even bothering to hide it. It was overwhelming, and I gulped.
I gripped my bag tighter against my side and prayed with everything in me not to tremble, not to let any of the fear clawing at the inside of my chest show on my face. They were predators. Every single one of them and predators fed on fear.
Some girls near the gate actually snarled at me as I passed, and I nearly jumped out of my skin, but I raised my head, kept my face neutral, and walked straight toward the administration building.
I was not going to be the human who cried on the first day. I refused.
By the time I reached the administration building, my heart was beating so hard it felt like it might burst out of my chest. I stopped in front of the door and stared at the dark wooden surface for a moment, my hand hovering just inches away from the handle.
This was it.
As I pushed open the door, the small bell above it announced my arrival while the woman at the front desk was reading a book. The office was small and dim, a single lamp on the desk throwing yellow light across stacked papers. I approached the desk slowly and cleared my throat.
"Hello, I'm new here," I said softly, not wanting to be rude because I knew how irritating it was to be disturbed mid-chapter. She gave no response; I waited and then tried again. Still nothing but the sound of her turning a page.
Irritation crept up on me before I could stop it, and I reached out and tapped the side of the desk. Her eyes snapped up immediately, and her eyes flashed sharply, and I blinked at her with what I hoped looked like pure innocence.
Her gaze traveled slowly from the top of my head down to my shoes, then back to my face, and her nose twitched.
"What do you want?" she growled.
"I'm new here."
"Then what?" she hissed flatly, and I stared at her for a moment, genuinely unsure what the correct answer was supposed to be.
"I need a pass," I said.
"Name." She wrinkled her nose and popped a piece of gum into her mouth, chewing loudly.
"Charles Onyx Callahan," I said, giving her my brother's name while trying to deepen my voice as she scoffed, a sharp sound that bounced off the walls of the small office.
"What are you playing at?" she asked.
"Nothing," I shrugged.
She looked at me with contempt and then rolled her eyes. "If you humans are dumb enough to think that disguise would fool anyone here into believing you're a boy, then you lot are more pathetic than I thought. Girl." She punctuated the last word with another loud chew of her gum.
I flinched before I could stop it. She knew I was in disguise; that means the others knew too.
"Now," she said, blowing a small bubble and letting it pop, "let's do this the simple way. Name?"
I opened my mouth, then closed it and swallowed. "Charlotte Emerald Callahan."
"Good."
A rectangular transparent screen materialized in front of her as she typed something into it, her nails clicking in quick taps. She pulled out a small crystal ball from the drawer and slid it toward me, explaining without looking up that it was for communication. She handed me a map, a key for my locker, and a key to my dormitory room.
"Welcome to Morsvalley Academy," she said, and when she looked up, there was a dark glint in her eyes and a smile on her face. "May you last longer than the others."
I picked up my things and walked back out into the hallway and hoped very much that I hadn't made the wrong decision in coming here in my brother's place.